Page 35 of Ho Ho Oh No

The gift. The shiny gold bow. The mood in the building this week and all the people inside it. The music. The festivities. The decorations. The twinkling icicle lights hanging from the ceiling of our bunk room.

And most of all, I love the man who hung them up there for me.

At the beginning of December, I was moody and whining about not having a Christmas tree like the giant one Tomer and I decorated together last year. We were newly dating, and it was one of the happiest memories of my new life in Clearwater.

I was aching to recreate that this year. Unfortunately, it isn’t in the cards since there’s no space in our tiny bunk room. And the big tree in the main lobby and the small ones around the building just aren’t the same.

Upholding his promise of doing everything in his power to keep me happy, Tomer got to work decorating our room thevery next day. Presumably, after his overnight shopping order arrived.

Lights that change colors drip from the ceiling, a projector fireplace scene illuminates one wall, and a tabletop tree rests on the small nightstand in the corner. The swoony sucker even retrieved some of the same decorations from last year’s big tree so this baby tree could be the next best thing.

I love him so much.My hunky holiday hero.

I’m radiating joy inside and out, and it’s not just the pregnancy glow. I adore everything about this holiday.

Temporarily done mooning over the majesty of the season, I refocus on the immaculately wrapped gift. It’s perfect, even if I do say so myself.

May my modesty inspire you to seek such miraculous heights of your own this holiday season.

The wrapping paper shimmers in the glow of the LED lights, thanks to the flecks of gold foiling woven into the deep crimson background. As I twist the box from side to side, I sigh contentedly.

Proud as I am of myself, I’m jonesing for some external praise.“Look at this one, babe.” I hold up the box between us, flashing a toothy grin. “Isn’t it beautiful? I think it’s my favorite.”

Tomer peers at me over his laptop screen, one brow arched indulgently. He’s been humoring me for the last hour of my gift-wrapping frenzy. Bless his heart.

His face softens when he takes in the finished product. “It’s nice, sugar. That’s for Madeline?”

I nod, shimmying my shoulders and bouncing my knees with unadulterated glee. “Yep. Last one. Now, I’m ready to corral the gang to start setting up for the party.”

Wrapping wizard. Present princess. Decorating diva. Majesty of merriment.

Yep. That’s me.

I notice a bent edge when I lower the gift back to the bed, which has been doubling as my gift-wrapping station. “Baby Jesus in the manger. There’s a crease.”

Repeating the motion from earlier, I smooth out the corner of the wrapping. A pained yelp bleats out of me at the sudden sting of paper slicing through the pad of my fingertip.“Ouch! Dagnabbit.”

The curse of Calamity Lettie strikes again.

“What’s wrong, sugar bear?”

“Paper cut.”

Shaking out my finger with a few flicks of my wrist, I quickly grow numb to the discomfort. Let’s face it. I’ve had far worse than a paper cut. Unless there were a thousand cuts, I’ll survive.

Before I get up to get something to soak up the tiny drop of blood, he’s already retrieving a tissue for me.I bat my lashes at him as he kneels beside the bed, reaching for my hand.

“Let me see it, sweetness.”

“It’s just a paper cut,” I whisper, letting him encircle my wrist with one hand so he can dab at my fingertip with his other.

One side of his face creeps upward. “Lettie, with you, there’s no such thing asjust a paper cut. Next thing you know, you’ll trip on your own two feet on the way down the hall to the bathroom. Inevitably, you’ll break a bone and wind up bleeding on the tile floor.”

I round my mouth and suck in an offended gasp. “Excuse me, sir. I’ll have you know this is the first injury I’ve ever had.” I tug my finger from the tissue, studying it carefully. “Sothisis what blood looks like?”

He recaptures my finger, applying gentle pressure with the tissue. “Cheeky little liar. Earning up some holiday spankings, are we?”

My core clenches at the mere idea, and my lip makes its way between my teeth for a little nibble.“Fine. There was this onetime I saw my own blood when I first moved to Florida. You caught me. Are you happy?”

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